Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

450815

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	New Enterprise Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the new Enterprise Allowance scheme.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire North
tabling member printed	Gavin Newlands
uin	25970
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>Latest statistics show that 76,960 new businesses have been set up with the support of the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA).</p><p> </p><p>A cohort study of the initial participants in the scheme showed that 78% of the first 2,960 NEA participants who started to trade remained off benefits for 52 weeks.</p><p> </p><p>In January 2016 we published an evaluation report which showed that business established with the support of NEA had a sustainability rate of 80%, with over 90% of these trading for over 12 months. Around half of the respondents to the survey reported an expansion in their customer base or an increase in turnover. The majority of respondents were planning to expand their business in the future.</p> answering member constituency Witham answering member printed Priti Patel question first answered 12/02/2016 13:44:38 answering member 4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel
tabling member	4420 label Biography information for Gavin Newlands

450816

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Motability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the effect on (a) the wellbeing and (b) access to employment and training of people who no longer have access to a motability vehicle due to moving from disability living allowance to personal independence payment.
tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
tabling member printed	Cat Smith
uin	25971
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2016 answer text <p>We recognise that the transition from DLA to PIP can be challenging for individuals, which is why the Department worked closely with Motability as we developed our plans for the introduction of PIP. The Motability charity provides a one-off package of transitional support and advice to support customers who no longer meet the eligibility criteria for the Motability scheme. For most of these customers who entered into their first lease agreement with Motability before January 2013, Motability will provide transitional support of £2,000. This will enable many former Scheme customers to continue to meet their mobility needs by purchasing a used car.</p><p>For customers who entered into their first lease agreement with the scheme after January 2013 and up to December 2013, Motability will supply transitional support of £1,000 to assist with mobility costs. Motability is also providing help with the cost of adaptations made to non-scheme vehicles and information on non-scheme motoring and insurance. The Scheme also offers customers an opportunity to purchase their vehicle after the end of the lease.</p><p>Support with employment is available through the Access to Work Scheme, which is potentially available on application to anyone with a health condition or disability that affects the way they perform their job and who needs practical support above and beyond the reasonable adjustments that an employer has a duty to make under the Equality Act 2010. The type of support Access to Work provides is tailored to an individual’s needs and can include travel to work.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 10/02/2016 11:50:37 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

450817

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	New Enterprise Allowance: Applications
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have applied to the National Enterprise Allowance scheme in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire North
tabling member printed	Gavin Newlands
uin	26011
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>Claimants who are interested in participating in the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) are referred by their work coach to a provider so that they can explore the self-employment options. Participation is voluntary.</p><p> </p><p>The take up of the NEA is closely linked to the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, which begun to drop in 2013 – 2014. It is also worth noting that during 2013 the Department ran a high profile marketing campaign to promote the NEA, using posters &amp; leaflets in jobcentres, YouTube videos, Webinars etc. which may also have influenced take up of the scheme in that year.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows how many starts there were with a business mentor in each financial year.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>NEA mentor starts by financial year (<sup>1</sup>)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number <sup>(2,3)</sup></strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2011 - March 2012</p></td><td><p>15,170</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2012 - March 2013</p></td><td><p>31,880</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2013 - March 2014</p></td><td><p>47,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2014 - March 2015</p></td><td><p>39,830</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2015 - September 2015 (six months)</p></td><td><p>18,200</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>(1) Data Source - DWP LMS opportunities evaluation database October 2015 for all quarters, DWP PRaP database October 2015 for Jan-Sept 2015.</p><p>(2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.</p><p>(3) It is possible that an individual may start to work with a mentor more than once and therefore appear more than once in these figures.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Witham answering member printed Priti Patel question first answered 12/02/2016 14:39:57 answering member 4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel
tabling member	4420 label Biography information for Gavin Newlands

450819

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	New Enterprise Allowance: Advisory Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many National Enterprise Allowance advisers are employed as part of that scheme.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire North
tabling member printed	Gavin Newlands
uin	25956
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>The NEA is delivered by contracted providers who use a combination of paid and volunteer mentors to deliver business mentoring support. The exact number of mentors used by providers is not known.</p> answering member constituency Witham answering member printed Priti Patel question first answered 12/02/2016 13:38:53 answering member 4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel
tabling member	4420 label Biography information for Gavin Newlands

450820

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Debt Collection
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on using debt collection agencies in each of the last seven years.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire North
tabling member printed	Gavin Newlands
uin	25955
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.</p><p> </p><p>With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.</p><p> </p><p>Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective.</p><p> </p><p>The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.</p><p> </p><p>The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.</p><p> </p><p>The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Spend</p></td><td><p>Recoveries</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>£1.59m</p></td><td><p>£8.50m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>£1.33m</p></td><td><p>£9.77m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>£2.11m</p></td><td><p>£13.94m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>£1.95m</p></td><td><p>£14.15m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>£2.12m</p></td><td><p>£15.00m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>£2.52m</p></td><td><p>£17.30m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/2016*</p></td><td><p>£1.64m</p></td><td><p>£11.05m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>*to date</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Spend</p></td><td><p>Recoveries</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>£1.25m</p></td><td><p>£10.20m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>£0.56m</p></td><td><p>£4.68m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>£0.35m</p></td><td><p>£1.35m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>£0.21m</p></td><td><p>£1.71m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>£0.05m</p></td><td><p>£1.21m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>£0.10m</p></td><td><p>£0.86m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/2016 to date</p></td><td><p>£0.07m</p></td><td><p>£0.53m</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 25949 25951 25952 25953 question first answered 12/02/2016 14:15:16 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4420 label Biography information for Gavin Newlands

450821

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Debt Collection
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with how many debt collection agencies his Department has a contract.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire North
tabling member printed	Gavin Newlands
uin	25949
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.</p><p> </p><p>With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.</p><p> </p><p>Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective.</p><p> </p><p>The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.</p><p> </p><p>The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.</p><p> </p><p>The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Spend</p></td><td><p>Recoveries</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>£1.59m</p></td><td><p>£8.50m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>£1.33m</p></td><td><p>£9.77m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>£2.11m</p></td><td><p>£13.94m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>£1.95m</p></td><td><p>£14.15m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>£2.12m</p></td><td><p>£15.00m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>£2.52m</p></td><td><p>£17.30m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/2016*</p></td><td><p>£1.64m</p></td><td><p>£11.05m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>*to date</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Spend</p></td><td><p>Recoveries</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>£1.25m</p></td><td><p>£10.20m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>£0.56m</p></td><td><p>£4.68m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>£0.35m</p></td><td><p>£1.35m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>£0.21m</p></td><td><p>£1.71m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>£0.05m</p></td><td><p>£1.21m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>£0.10m</p></td><td><p>£0.86m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/2016 to date</p></td><td><p>£0.07m</p></td><td><p>£0.53m</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 25951 25952 25953 25955 question first answered 12/02/2016 14:15:15 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4420 label Biography information for Gavin Newlands

450822

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Debt Collection
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department regulates the activities of debt collection agencies during the period that they are under contract with his Department.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire North
tabling member printed	Gavin Newlands
uin	25951
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.</p><p> </p><p>With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.</p><p> </p><p>Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective.</p><p> </p><p>The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.</p><p> </p><p>The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.</p><p> </p><p>The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Spend</p></td><td><p>Recoveries</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>£1.59m</p></td><td><p>£8.50m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>£1.33m</p></td><td><p>£9.77m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>£2.11m</p></td><td><p>£13.94m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>£1.95m</p></td><td><p>£14.15m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>£2.12m</p></td><td><p>£15.00m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>£2.52m</p></td><td><p>£17.30m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/2016*</p></td><td><p>£1.64m</p></td><td><p>£11.05m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>*to date</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Spend</p></td><td><p>Recoveries</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>£1.25m</p></td><td><p>£10.20m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>£0.56m</p></td><td><p>£4.68m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>£0.35m</p></td><td><p>£1.35m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>£0.21m</p></td><td><p>£1.71m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>£0.05m</p></td><td><p>£1.21m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>£0.10m</p></td><td><p>£0.86m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/2016 to date</p></td><td><p>£0.07m</p></td><td><p>£0.53m</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 25949 25952 25953 25955 question first answered 12/02/2016 14:15:15 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4420 label Biography information for Gavin Newlands

450823

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Debt Collection
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's policy is on using debt collection agencies for collection of outstanding payments.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire North
tabling member printed	Gavin Newlands
uin	25952
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.</p><p> </p><p>With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.</p><p> </p><p>Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective.</p><p> </p><p>The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.</p><p> </p><p>The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.</p><p> </p><p>The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Spend</p></td><td><p>Recoveries</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>£1.59m</p></td><td><p>£8.50m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>£1.33m</p></td><td><p>£9.77m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>£2.11m</p></td><td><p>£13.94m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>£1.95m</p></td><td><p>£14.15m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>£2.12m</p></td><td><p>£15.00m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>£2.52m</p></td><td><p>£17.30m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/2016*</p></td><td><p>£1.64m</p></td><td><p>£11.05m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>*to date</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Spend</p></td><td><p>Recoveries</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>£1.25m</p></td><td><p>£10.20m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>£0.56m</p></td><td><p>£4.68m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>£0.35m</p></td><td><p>£1.35m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>£0.21m</p></td><td><p>£1.71m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>£0.05m</p></td><td><p>£1.21m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>£0.10m</p></td><td><p>£0.86m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/2016 to date</p></td><td><p>£0.07m</p></td><td><p>£0.53m</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 25949 25951 25953 25955 question first answered 12/02/2016 14:15:16 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4420 label Biography information for Gavin Newlands

450824

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Debt Collection
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment of the ethical standards of debt collection agencies his Department undertakes before entering into a contract with such agencies.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire North
tabling member printed	Gavin Newlands
uin	25953
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.</p><p> </p><p>With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.</p><p> </p><p>Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective.</p><p> </p><p>The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.</p><p> </p><p>The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.</p><p> </p><p>The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Spend</p></td><td><p>Recoveries</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>£1.59m</p></td><td><p>£8.50m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>£1.33m</p></td><td><p>£9.77m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>£2.11m</p></td><td><p>£13.94m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>£1.95m</p></td><td><p>£14.15m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>£2.12m</p></td><td><p>£15.00m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>£2.52m</p></td><td><p>£17.30m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/2016*</p></td><td><p>£1.64m</p></td><td><p>£11.05m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>*to date</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Spend</p></td><td><p>Recoveries</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>£1.25m</p></td><td><p>£10.20m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>£0.56m</p></td><td><p>£4.68m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>£0.35m</p></td><td><p>£1.35m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>£0.21m</p></td><td><p>£1.71m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>£0.05m</p></td><td><p>£1.21m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>£0.10m</p></td><td><p>£0.86m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/2016 to date</p></td><td><p>£0.07m</p></td><td><p>£0.53m</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 25949 25951 25952 25955 question first answered 12/02/2016 14:15:16 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4420 label Biography information for Gavin Newlands

450825

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	New Enterprise Allowance: Costs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the annual cost to the public purse is of the National Enterprise Allowance.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire North
tabling member printed	Gavin Newlands
uin	25944
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>The cost of the National Enterprise Allowance for 2014/2015 is set out below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="3"><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong> <strong>Financial Year</strong> <strong> </strong> <strong> </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2014/15</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April</p></td><td><p>£2,870,327</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May</p></td><td><p>£2,667,964</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June</p></td><td><p>£2,684,145</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July</p></td><td><p>£3,024,793</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August</p></td><td><p>£2,680,226</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September</p></td><td><p>£2,745,898</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October</p></td><td><p>£2,851,252</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November</p></td><td><p>£2,401,930</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December</p></td><td><p>£2,700,389</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January</p></td><td><p>£2,292,763</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February</p></td><td><p>£1,920,337</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March</p></td><td><p>£2,255,913</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Witham answering member printed Priti Patel question first answered 12/02/2016 13:56:59 answering member 4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel
tabling member	4420 label Biography information for Gavin Newlands